Effects of sugar cross-linking agents and thermal treatment on the culture of fibroblasts in vitro on a (PEG/chitosan) membrane

The influences of sugar and a thermal treatment process on the properties of a PEG/chitosan membrane were investigated in this study. With increasing thermal treatment temperature, the cross-linking density was increased and the crystal structure was distorted in the sugar-mediated polyblend. The coloration of the samples intensified from yellow or brown to dark brown during the heat exposure, indicating that a Schiff base was formed. The presence of cross-linking was determined from the FTIR spectrum, a solubility test, and water uptake. The C=N bonding shown in the FTIR spectrum indicates that a Maillard reaction occurred in the sugar-mediated polyblend. The water uptake ability of the samples tested was in the following sequence: sucrose > glucose > D-fructose, which was inverse to the trend of the cross-linking density. The compatibility of the polyblend and the sugar-mediated polyblend with fibroblasts was demonstrated. The thermal treatment has an insignificant effect on cell attachment on chitosan and the other polyblends, but different types of sugar and the cross-linking density changed the cell behavior. Consequently, chitosan/PEG6K cross-linked with sucrose at a concentration of 10 wt% and 120 degrees C thermal treatment shows potential for biomedical applications.